Too much sleep can cause problems

SARASOTA, Fla. -- According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, about 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. Here are the signs and symptoms of one disorder called Sleep Drunkenness.

For years medical professionals have warned of the hazards of not getting enough sleep. But getting too many Z's may be responsible for you feeling dazed, disoriented and confused…and possibly perceived by others as a little drunk.

“If you're normally sleeping eight hours or so, then suddenly decide, ‘oh, I'm going to have a really nice weekend’ and you sleep eleven or twelve hours, you may wake up so groggy that you don't really wake up for twenty or thirty minutes,” says Dr. Matthew Edlund at Center for Circadian Medicine.

This happens to a lot of people, he says. “That’s when people wake up, but they really don't wake up. They're still in between sleep and awake.”

Most of the time, he says people just feel really, really groggy. “Like this lead pipe hanging over your back, and they just hardly can move.”

This is how you may appear to others. “You'll feel not with it, people looking at you might think that you're drunk, hungover, some people even think that you're having a seizure.”

Oversleep affects more than your clarity. “If you sleep a very long period of time, your appetite may change, that may contribute to your grogginess.”

But, Sleep Drunkenness doesn't just affect those who oversleep.

“Sleep Drunkenness is both sleep deprivation and too much sleep.” Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery Dr. Jeffrey Sell says those with sleep disorders of any kind will have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. “In a study of thousands of people in Europe, they looked at 19% of them reported having some kind of sleep problem. And of much higher than usual incidence of cardiovascular disease, as well as obesity as well as hyperlipidemias.”

Hazards of Sleep Drunkenness may not only affect you. “It can cause a danger, especially if you're going to try and get behind a vehicle.”